Mozambique: Strategic plan sees all districts having own courts by 2020

9:26 CAT | 12 Oct 2018

File photo: Notícias

All Mozambique’s 154 districts are to have their own courts by 2020, where just 138 currently have such institutions functioning, according to the Strategic Development Plan released by the country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday.

According to the document, providing courts in all districts will ensure that citizens have access to justice in a timely manner and closer to where they live.

The plan notes that there are currently 12 district courts that are unable to function due to a lack of human and financial resources.

Twelve other districts have no court at all, and await the construction of a courthouse or the court being set up in an existing building.

Mozambique has a total of 155 courts of all kinds, including the supreme court, higher courts of appeal, provincial courts and district courts.

According to the Supreme Court, there is currently one judge for more than 100,000 inhabitants, while the ideal scenario would be to have eight for every 100,000.